German automaker Volkswagen said it will build a new pickup truck in Argentina before the end of the year aimed at export markets starting in the first quarter of 2010.
The "Amarok" pickup will be produced in the automaker's Argentine unit and will be exported mainly to Brazil, Germany, South Africa and Australia, said Ronnie Frost, a director for public affairs at Volkswagen Argentina.
The automaker invested about 1.3 billion pesos ($340 million) partly to adjust the local assembly lines for the production of the pickup truck. Its rivals will include models by Toyota and Nissan.
VW Argentina said it expects to close 2009 as the leading automaker in the country, with a market share of between 26 percent and 28 percent of a total annual production estimated at 500,000 units.
